Sunflower || JJ Maybank/Cassandra Routledge

28. The Unfortunate Truth

Parcel 9 6.01

He doesn't want to be mad at her. That is the last thing he wants because he knows whatever happened has obviously affected her in a negative way, but he can't help it. She should have told him. He should have been the first person she told.

As if the world around her stops moving, buzzing in her ears and the erratic beating of her heart makes Casey feel like she is about to pass out. Words feel impossible to put together as she stares at John B. There is no way what he just said is true. There is no way Ward Cameron is willing to step in as their legal guardian. No, no fucking way. "Wa-wait, what?" She somehow manages to mumble as she slowly takes her hand out of his. "Ward wants to adopt us?"

"Uh, basically." John B leans back and looks toward the window, a wave of calmness flooding over him. He is completely unaware that she is about to have a panic attack right in front of him. All he can think about is the fact that all of their worries and concerns are pretty much resolved now. "He said he talked to Peterkin this morning and she agreed to let him take us in, if it was okay with us."

"And you said it was?" Casey fearfully asks.

John B narrows his eyes as he looks at her. He can now see something is wrong. Casey usually hides her anxiety but the dread building behind her eyes is hard to miss. The problem, he has no idea why she seems to be taking this so hard. He thought she would be on the same page as him. Obviously not happy about living on Figure Eight, but at least relieved to be free of CPS. "Uh, yeah, I said we were fine with it."

Casey slowly shakes her head and gets up from the bed as John B confirms that her fear is becoming reality. There is no way, no fucking way, Ward Cameron wants to take them in. She subconsciously begins pacing the room as her mind continues to race. She has never been able to stay away from Rafe. The golf course, the movies, Midsummers, he always gets his claws into her and now she is supposed to live in the same house as him?

Besides the obvious undisturbed access to torment her more than he has ever done in the past, if she stays in that house, she is going to be thinking about him nonstop. When she is face to face with him, she is able to get over this pit in her stomach, but thinking about him, like she is doing right now, tears her apart. It's as if he has a physiological power over her, like his hands wrapping around her throat once again, suffocating her. She can't breathe when she thinks of him. She can't push through the mental warfare and overcome the oppression in her mind.

And after everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours, there is no fighting against it. There is no hiding the terror she is being asphyxiated by and John B can see it clear as day. He can see her eyes begin to fill with tears and the slight twitch she is doing every time she turns. "Andy, this means we don't have to run anymore. DCS won't be after us and JJ said the Square Groupers are outta' the picture. We can go get the gold with no one stopping us."

Casey stops pacing and looks over at him. She can hear him talking, she can see his lips moving, but she can't comprehend the words. She can't process that he thinks everything is going to be okay. "I can't live in a house with him. I--I can't." She mumbles, not realizing she is no longer keeping her thoughts in her mind. She is subconsciously letting out one of the biggest secrets she has ever kept from her brother. "Not after what he did to me."

A wave of deja vu hits John B as he sits up. He's confused as to who she is talking about, but this conversation is familiar. They had it with the Pogues, in the Twinkie, last night. He didn't know who she was talking about when she hinted that she has been through hell, but now, he can narrow it down. There are only two men living at Tannyhill. Ward and Rafe, and it takes him less than a second to decide who she is talking about. Ward and Casey have virtually never spoken to each other and she would not be acting like this because the Kook fired him a few days ago. No, this is about his son. "What does Rafe have anything to do with this? What happened?"